What is Email Marketing Automation?

Did you know that the global market for email marketing was valued at $7.5 billion in 2020? And it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. In fact, its value is projected to increase to $17.9 billion by 2027.

Email marketing can be a great way to reach out to targeted prospects and get more leads. The best part is that email marketing automation can help you fully optimize the process. With platforms like Constant Contact, automation becomes super easy for marketers.

But what is email marketing automation and how does it work? In this article, let’s take a closer look at it and how you can leverage email marketing automation to grow your business.

Understanding Email Marketing Automation

Through email marketing automation, you can send targeted messages to your subscribers based on their interests, browsing behavior, or personal information. It enables you to send timely messages so that your subscribers take a specific action.

For example, if someone signs up for your service, you could shoot them a welcome email. Similarly, you can send them a reminder if they have abandoned their cart while shopping.

Why Should You Use Email Marketing Automation?

Since you send automated messages, you don’t have to do the repetitive work of sending emails every time. The most obvious benefit of email marketing automation is that you can save time.

But that’s not all. In this section, let’s take a look at all the major advantages of email marketing automation.

1. You Can Leverage Segmentation

With advanced email marketing software programs, you can create highly segmented email lists. With your CRM data, you can segment your lists so that you are able to send specific emails to people based on their funnel stage, purchase intent, buying history, or other common criteria.

Such segmented lists make it easy for you to automate your workflows and send highly targeted emails. If done effectively, you can expect to boost your engagement and sales.

2. You Can Keep Your Prospects Engaged

Through email marketing automation, you can track how your subscribers are interacting with your emails. A quick look at the click-through data can give you an idea of what’s working to get favorable responses.

Based on that, you can optimize your email marketing campaigns. You can alter the design and text of your emails accordingly to get more clicks and reduce the number of unsubscribes. Plus, sending timely messages can help you get more engagement.

3. You Can Shorten the Sales Cycle

With email marketing automation, marketers can sync all of their business activities with the overall sales cycle. With the help of Constant Contact automation or other platforms, you can automatically send emails about the time when a customer is likely to run out of their product.

4. You Can Provide a Personalized Experience

Did you know that 72% of customers only engage with marketing messages that are personalized? With the help of email marketing automation, you can create emails that are targeted to cater to your audience’s interests and preferences.

5. You Can Improve Your Retention Rate

It’s a lot easier and even more cost-effective to sell your products or services to existing customers than to find new ones.

With Constant Contact automation or other tools, you can keep in touch with them and schedule messages at regular intervals to make sure you are on their radar. This way, you can engage them and send relevant discounts and offers. Overall, it can improve your chances of retaining your customers and boosting their loyalty to your brand.

Even if they haven’t engaged with your emails for a while, you can send a follow-up email. It could read something like, “Hey, we miss you. We are offering a 20% discount on our latest products. Thought you’d like to check it out.”

What Are the Biggest Challenges with Email Marketing Automation?

The biggest challenge with email marketing automation is that it requires you to plan your campaigns in advance. However, a little bit of planning can save you a lot of time that you would have otherwise spent in sending emails separately.

If you are absolutely new to email marketing automation, you will also need to spend some time learning how your automation software program works.

What Kind of Emails Can You Send With Automation Software Programs?

Now that you know what email marketing automation is, let’s dive in deeper. In this section, let’s discuss different types of emails that you can send with automation software programs.

1. Welcome Emails

Whenever someone signs up for your newsletter, you want to be prompt with a welcome message. When it comes to welcome emails, timeliness is key.

Using email marketing automation software, you can send a welcome email that lets your subscribers know that you value them right away.

It can be a simple email that thanks them for signing up or even showcases the latest offers you have for them. You could share helpful resources that would help them understand your brand better.

Here is an example of a welcome email from Airbnb:

Image via Instapage

2. Abandoned Cart Emails

Sometimes, your customers may add multiple items to their shopping cart but abandon it during checkout. An abandoned cart email can serve as a gentle reminder to remind customers that they should complete their purchase.

Here is a sample of an abandoned cart email from Tinte Cosmetics:

Image via TargetBay

3. Restock/Renewal Update

You can send a reminder to restock on a product or to renew a membership just when it is about to expire. You can also send a special discount or offer to ensure that they stay loyal to your brand.

Here is an example of a restocking reminder from Sephora:

Image via In2sight

For example, say a product is estimated to last for four months. At the end of four months, they send an email to their customers with a promotional offer on the same product. This is an easy way to increase email deliverability.

4. Newsletter/Blog Updates

If you have a blog that you regularly update, you could send links to the latest posts via emails as well. This can help you create brand awareness and keep your subscribers engaged. In fact, you can schedule such emails once or twice a month.

However, before sending out newsletters or blog posts, make sure that they’re updated and relevant.

Here is an example of an email newsletter:

Image via Wix

5. Appointment Reminders

Another simple trick to make sure you get repeat customers is to send them reminder emails. For businesses that provide recurring services like salons, mechanics, and dentists, such appointment reminder emails are a must.

Here is an example of an email that reminds a subscriber about their appointment:

Image via Setmore

6. Event Promotion

If you host events, webinars, or meetups to promote your business, you should use email marketing to create some buzz around it. One way to make sure that you get high registrations is to send reminder emails.

In fact, you could send a series of follow-up emails starting a few weeks prior to the event date.

Image via Wishpond

7. Discount Offers

If you have a new offer, sale, or discount, you should spread the word via email marketing. Not only can it help you get more traffic but can also boost your sales and revenue.

Image via LiveAgent

Email Marketing Automation: Best Practices That You Should Follow

Ready to get started with email marketing automation to grow your business? Here are some tips that will help you automate your email marketing campaigns with ease.

1. Track Email Responses

Whenever you send an automated email, you get a chance to track how each subscriber responds to it. Some may leave your email unopened while others may engage with it, buy your product, or click-through to your website.

Pay close attention to how they respond to your emails as it can direct the next step of your overall strategy. If your emails are not getting enough clicks, you’ll know that you need to try a different approach.

2. Give Discounts Strategically

High shipping cost is often a deterrent for customers who may want to make a purchase. You may not want to eliminate the fee completely but you can send a discount coupon to persuade reluctant customers.

Make sure you don’t overdo this tactic. Otherwise, your customers may start expecting you to provide such discounts often.

3. Create Drip Campaigns

Many subscribers may need to interact with your marketing messages multiple times before they decide to make a purchase. That’s why drip campaigns are necessary for all businesses. With automated drip campaigns, you can make sure that you are reaching out at regular intervals.

4. Write For Scanners

Not all subscribers are going to read each and every word in your email. Instead, they might just scan through the content.

To make sure that you convey your message properly, you should design your emails to pique their interest. It is recommended that you use eye-catching graphics and sub-headings to keep your emails scannable.

5. Use a Call-to-Action Button

Using an optimized call-to-action button in your email gives users a clear direction of what they are supposed to do next. This, in turn, increases your chances of getting clicks.

FAQs

1. What is email marketing automation?
Email marketing automation allows you to send emails to your subscriber list automatically based on certain pre-defined triggers or criteria.

2. Why should you use email marketing automation?
Email marketing automation allows you to send the right messages to your subscriber base at the right time. You can set it up once and then the software program sends emails automatically based on pre-set criteria.

3. Why do we need email marketing automation?
Email marketing automation can help you stay connected with your subscribers and build a loyal base of customers.

By sending regular emails and wishing them well on birthdays and anniversaries, you can maintain a relationship with them. To retain your existing customers, you can send them emails about your latest offers and events.

4. What is the biggest obstacle to email marketing automation?
Email marketing automation requires advanced planning.

If you need to send an email about a sale on New Year’s Eve, you need to make sure you’re sending the email announcing the sale at least a week in advance.

You also need to send reminders and multiple follow-up emails, all of which require you to have a thorough marketing plan.

5. Which are some email automation examples?
Here are some examples of emails that you can automate using email automation software programs:

• Welcome emails
• Abandoned cart emails
• Event promotion emails
• Appointment reminder emails
• Renewal emails
• Blog updates
• Discount offers

Wrapping Up

As a marketer or a business owner, you’re likely to be hard-pressed for time. However, if you want to grow your business, you need to make sure you are reaching out to your prospects and engaging with them. With automated email marketing campaigns, you can do that without having to spend a lot of time drafting and sending emails.

Use the strategies mentioned in this article to automate your email marketing campaigns and grow your business. With Constant Contact, it is incredibly easy to run your email marketing campaigns on autopilot. Check it out now! If you have any questions, please feel free to send them in the comments section below.